--Byrthelm Republic, Blueblossom Haven, Sehtoru and Laureon's homestead, Midvale Province - Vikaday, 23 Laureoth, 146 R.R. Just after sunup.--
After the incident with the strange sleep inducing worm, the rest of the night passes peacefully. It is now clear why there has been an increase in ground disturbances in Midvale province, though how the worms were able to kill their victims without leaving any marks whatsoever is still a bit of a mystery. After he's broken his fast with Sehtoru and Laureon, Camatil comes out and makes it clear that he and his bodyguards will be headed back to town with all haste.
Before he can head off, Nikeisha went to the mayor. "As you might have heard, we spotted a creature in the evening. Burrowing worm thing. Are there any natural caves, mines, something like that where something underground might be making a lair?"
She'd have to talk to the Elves about how to deal with the Sleep spell the thing had cast, too.
Luna approaches the mayor as well and listens to what Nikeisha has to say to the Mayor, then adds he own, "Or do you maybe know who among the locals might be the best to inform us of such a place and maybe even guide us there?"
Given that the ground was still solidified, it didn't take Jun long to dig into the dirt, even by hand. he quickly checked all the sides of the coffin for holes, then reburied the body. Once he was finished, he cast prestidigitation on himself and rejoined the others, sharing what he had learned.
"Also do you know anyone who sells snake traps?" adds Jun as he joins the others.
--Byrthelm Republic, Blueblossom Haven, Sehtoru and Laureon's homestead, Midvale Province - Vikaday, 23 Laureoth, 146 R.R. Just after sunup.--
Listening to the details and questions presented, Mayor Camatil looks up into the azure sky for a moment, clearly thinking. "Snake traps? I'm not even aware of such a thing, other than perhaps a snare, and if that's what you're talking about, any youth of seven or eight summers in the province can show you how to make a rather effective snare from plant parts." The mayor then looks at Bellaluna and Nikeisha and says, "There aren't any caves that I know about in Midvale, and certainly no mines, our economy is purely agriculturally based. Though, now that you mention caves, it reminds me Walter Gaukridotr, the man who was the first to lose livestock to this... whatever this is, did say that his hired hands have started to report an extraordinary amount of sinkholes on his property. I wonder if the two are related? You said the creature was a burrowing worm? It would take an awfully big worm to make a sinkhole..." Camatil leaves the ramifications of that conjecture hanging in the air like so much sulphur after an exploded fireball.
We should probably take a look at Walter's property, no?
"Could someone please direct us towards this Walter Gaukridotr's property? And do you know if there are any other remaining livestock corpses that have not been destroyed?"
Camatil points almost due east and says, "Walter owns a massive tract of the province to the east. You head that direction and before the day's out you'll be walking on one of his pastures. Won't be long before some of his foreman or shepherds find you. Or his dogs, but they don't bite, too hard." The mayor laughs heartily at his own joke. "As to recently deceased livestock, I don't think there have been any reported to Sehtoru in the last day. At least if there were, he didn't relate it to me."
"Pardon me, I think you misunderstand my question about the livestock. I am asking about anyone's livestock that has died mysteriously, whether if ANY of those corpses might be available to check out?
"That sounds like a good place to check next, yeah. Is there anywhere we could buy some climbing supplies?" Nikeisha was worried about falling down a hole she couldn't get out of. She was also worried that this was, in fact, one giant monsters and what they'd seen was simply a tendril. That could be...challenging.
"No, I understood you. I'm saying there's no livestock on Sehtoru's farm that died recently enough that the corpses are still around. Like I said, if you head east you'll run into Gaukridotr's land, and he's had more than his fair share fall to this malady. Can't say if he's got any fresh corpses about, but he'd be like as any too have them, since his flocks and herds are the biggest in the province." Camatil says.
"Okay people! Come on! Let's go investigate this 'Gaukridotr's' land and see what we can find out."
Nikeisha nodded, hefting her staff and getting ready to head. It seemed like the thing to do.
Jun straps on his pack and nods that he is ready to go after bowing to the mayor.
--Byrthelm Republic, Blueblossom Haven, Gaukridotr Lands, Midvale Province - Vikaday, 23 Laureoth, 146 R.R. Late Afternoon.--
It seems that passing through the meadows, pastures, woods, and glades of Midvale Province is both serenely beautiful, and not as easy as it looks. Ranchers and shepherds keep a keen eye out for threats, and a group of well armed travelers definitely counts as a threat. Each time the group was stopped they had to re-explain themselves, make assurances of peace, and chat idly for a bit to ascertain if any of the farms' hired workers knew anything that they didn't. Such conversations did, at the very least, corroborate the idea that the geographical epicenter of this malady, even if it is just caused by burrowing rainbow worms, is definitely Gakridotr's land.
So it is that late in the afternoon, the group is once again accosted by a group of shepherds, each equipped with longbows and shepherds' staves. This time, though, they obviously had advance warning of the group's coming.
"Oy!" Calls a husky, weather-beaten man in his middle years, tufts of grey hair sparkle amidst the brown hair of his sideburns. He steps forward out of the group of hired hands. "You must be Akassa's investigators, eh?" He asks, obviously rhetorically. "Boss Gaukridotr wanted me to talk to you. I'm his chief foreman; name's Gylex."
"Nikeisha," the warlock responded with a nod. "Yeah, that's us lot. Heard you got a lot of sinkholes, and we've seen a beasty getting around underground that we think might be the culprit. Can you show us some of the most recent holes?"
"Aye, right this way." Gylex says and turns around and walks away, not even taking the time to notice if the group is following him.
Following Gylex around for the rest of the afternoon and evening, you all got a good idea of the lay of Gaukridotr's land, and it is mighty big. Walter Gaukridotr employs nigh on a hundred employees, mostly ranchers and shepherds. His property definitely has an extraordinary amount of burrowing activity, and some of the sinkholes are even man-sized, but they always collapse, unpassable, before going too deep. Making any ideas of spelunking to follow the tunnels all but impossible without purchasing a lot more gear. With little productive conceivably to do, the group spends the night camped with a group of the shepherds on a low rising hill a good walk from the main houses and barns.
The next morning, after breaking fast, and discussing what, if anything can possibly be done to further the investigation, or to try and locate another of the mysterious worms, you are informed by one of the shepherds that another group of Akassa's volunteers has arrived on Gaukridotr's land, and that they have just butchered a corpse of a sheep that was found dead this morning. Obviously meeting this group and discussing what, if anything, they've learned is to your best advantage. So you all gather your things and head over to meet and greet them.
-------End of (this) Campaign--------
Can you remove this from the boards?